Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article thirteen, chapter seventeen-c of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

(a) Any owner of a Class A motor vehicle subject to
registration under the provisions of article three, chapter
seventeen-a of this code, who is:
(1) A person with a mobility impairment;
(2) A relative of a person with a mobility impairment;
(3) A person who regularly resides with a person with a
mobility impairment; or
(4) A person who regularly transports a person who has a
mobility impairment, may submit an application for a special
registration plate or a removable windshield placard.
(b) Any person with a mobility impairment, any relative
of a person with a mobility impairment, any person who regularly
resides with a person with a mobility impairment or any person who
regularly transports a person who has a mobility impairment may
submit an application for a removable windshield placard for a
Class A vehicle by submitting to the commissioner:
(1) An application on a form prescribed and furnished by the
commissioner, specifying whether the applicant desires a special registration plate, a removable windshield placard, or both; and
(2) A certificate issued by a licensed physician stating that
the applicant or the applicant's relative is a person with a
mobility impairment, or that the person regularly residing with the
applicant or regularly transported by the applicant is a person
with a mobility impairment, as defined in this section, and
furthermore, the physician shall specify whether the disability is
temporary (not to exceed six months) or permanent (one to five
years or more in expected duration).

Upon receipt of the completed application, the physician's
certificate and the regular registration fee for the applicant's
vehicle class, if the commissioner finds that the applicant
qualifies for the special registration plate or a removable
windshield placard as provided in this section, he or she shall
issue to the applicant a special registration plate (upon
remittance of the regular registration fee), or a removable
windshield placard (red for temporary and blue for permanent), or
both. Upon request, the commissioner shall also issue to any
otherwise qualified applicant one additional placard having the
same expiration date as the applicant's original placard. The
placard shall be displayed by hanging it from the interior rear view mirror of the motor vehicle so that it is conspicuously
visible from outside the vehicle when parked in a designated
handicapped parking space. The placard may be removed from the
rear view mirror whenever the vehicle is being operated to ensure
clear vision and safe driving. Only in the event that there is no
rear view mirror in the vehicle may the placard be displayed on the
dashboard of the vehicle.

(c) As used in this section, the following terms have the
meanings ascribed to them in this subsection:
(1) A person with a "mobility impairment" means a person who,
as determined by a licensed physician:
(A) Cannot walk two hundred feet without stopping to rest;
(B) Cannot walk without the use of or assistance from a brace,
cane, crutch, prosthetic device, wheelchair, other assistive device
or another person;
(C) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the
person's force (respiratory) expiratory volume for one second, when
measured by spirometry, is less than one liter or the arterial
oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;
(D) Uses portable oxygen;
(E) Has a cardiac condition to such an extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class
III or Class IV according to standards established by the American
heart association; or
(F) Is severely limited in his or her ability to walk because
of an arthritic, neurological, orthopedic or other physical
condition.
(2) "Special registration plate" means a registration plate
that displays the international symbol of access in a color that
contrasts with the background, in letters and numbers the same size
as those on the plate, and which may be used in lieu of a regular
registration plate.
(3) "Removable windshield placard" (permanent or temporary)
means a two-sided, hanger style placard measuring three inches by
nine and one-half inches, with all of the following on each side:
(A) The international symbol of access, measuring at least
three inches in height, centered on the placard, in white on a blue
background;
(B) An identification number measuring one inch in height;
(C) An expiration date in numbers measuring one inch in
height; and
(D) The seal or other identifying symbol of the issuing
authority.
(4) "Regular registration fee" means the standard registration
fee for a vehicle of the same class as the applicant's.
(5) "Public entity" means state or local government or any
department, agency, special purpose district or other
instrumentality of a state or local government.
(6) "Public facility" means all or any part of any buildings,
structures, sites, complexes, roads, parking lots or other real or
personal property, including the site where the facility is
located.
(7) "Place(s) of public accommodation" means a facility or
facilities operated by a private entity whose operations affect
commerce and fall within at least one of the following categories:
(A) Inns, hotels, motels and other places of lodging;
(B) Restaurants, bars or other establishments serving food or
drink;
(C) Motion picture houses, theaters, concert halls, stadiums
or other places of exhibition or entertainment;
(D) Auditoriums, convention centers, lecture halls or other
places of public gatherings;
(E) Bakeries, grocery stores, clothing stores, hardware
stores, shopping centers or other sales or rental establishments;
(F) Laundromats, dry cleaners, banks, barber and beauty shops, travel agencies, shoe repair shops, funeral parlors, gas or service
stations, offices of accountants and attorneys, pharmacies,
insurance offices, offices of professional health care providers,
hospitals or other service establishments;
(G) Terminals, depots or other stations used for public
transportation;
(H) Museums, libraries, galleries or other places of public
display or collection;
(I) Parks, zoos, amusement parks or other places of
recreation;
(J) Public or private nursery, elementary, secondary,
undergraduate or post-graduate schools or other places of learning
and day care centers, senior citizen centers, homeless shelters,
food banks, adoption agencies or other social services
establishments; and
(K) Gymnasiums, health spas, bowling alleys, golf courses or
other places of exercise or recreation.
(8) "Commercial facility" means a facility whose operations
affect commerce and which are intended for nonresidential use by a
private entity.
Any person who falsely or fraudulently obtains or seeks to
obtain the special plate or the removable windshield placard provided for in this section, and any person who falsely certifies
that a person is mobility impaired in order that an applicant may
be issued the special registration plate or windshield placard
hereunder, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
in addition to any other penalty he or she may otherwise incur,
shall be fined one hundred dollars.
(d) The commissioner shall set the expiration date for special
registration plates and permanent removable windshield placards on
the last day of a given month and year, to be valid for a minimum
of one year but not more than five years, after which time a new
application must be submitted to the commissioner. After the
commissioner receives the new application, signed by a certified
physician, the commissioner shall issue: (i) A new special
registration plate or new permanent removable windshield placard;
or (ii) official labels imprinted with the new expiration date and
designed so as to be placed over the old dates on the original
registration plate or windshield placard.
(e) The commissioner shall set the expiration date of
temporary removable windshield placards to be valid for a period of
approximately six months after the application was received and
approved by the commissioner.
(f) The commissioner shall issue to each applicant who is granted a special registration plate or windshield placard an
identification card bearing the applicant's name, assigned
identification number and expiration date. The applicant must
thereafter carry this identification card on his or her person
whenever parking in a handicapped parking space.
(g) A handicapped parking space should comply with the
provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines,
contained in 28 C.F.R. 36, Appendix A, Section 4.6. In particular,
the parking space should be a minimum of eight feet wide with an
adjacent access aisle for vans having side mounted handicap lifts.
Access aisles should be marked using diagonal stripes or other
appropriate markings denoting that the space is a no-parking zone.
Lines or markings on the pavement or curbs for parking spaces and
access aisles may be in any color, although blue is the generally
accepted color for handicapped parking.
(h) A vehicle from any other state, United States territory or
foreign country displaying an officially issued special
registration plate, placard or decal bearing the international
symbol of access, shall be recognized and accepted as meeting the
requirements of this section, regardless of where the plate,
placard or decal is mounted or displayed on the vehicle.
(i) Free stopping, standing or parking places marked with the international symbol of access shall be designated in close
proximity to all public entities, including state, county and
municipal buildings and facilities, places of public accommodation
and commercial facilities. These parking places shall be reserved
solely for persons with a mobility impairment during the hours that
those buildings are open for business.
(j) Any person whose vehicle properly displays a valid,
unexpired special registration plate or removable windshield
placard may park the vehicle for unlimited periods of time in
parking zones unrestricted as to length of parking time permitted:
Provided, That this privilege does not mean that the vehicle may
park in any zone where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited
or which creates parking zones for special types of vehicles or
which prohibits parking during heavy traffic periods during
specified rush hours or where parking would clearly present a
traffic hazard. To the extent any provision of any ordinance of
any political subdivision of this state is contrary to the
provisions of this section, the provisions of this section take
precedence and apply.
The privileges provided for in this subsection apply only
during those times when the vehicle is being used for the
transportation of a person with a mobility impairment. Any person who knowingly exercises, or attempts to exercise, these privileges
at a time when the vehicle is not being used for the transportation
of a person with a mobility impairment is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any other penalty he
or she may otherwise incur, shall be fined one hundred dollars.
(k) No person may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle in an
area designated, zoned or marked for handicapped parking with signs
or instructions displaying the international symbol of access,
either by itself or with explanatory text. Such signs may be
mounted on a post or a wall in front of the handicapped parking
space and instructions may appear on the ground or pavement, but
use of both methods is preferred. Handicapped parking spaces for
vans having an eight-foot adjacent access aisle should be
designated as "van accessible" but may be used by any vehicle
displaying a valid special registration plate or removable
windshield placard. These spaces are intended solely for persons
with a mobility impairment, as defined in this section. If at any
time, a person is not mobility impaired and does not display upon
his or her vehicle a special registration plate or removable
windshield placard issued by the commissioner, he or she may not
lawfully park in a handicapped parking space: Provided, That any
person in the act of transporting a person with a mobility impairment as defined in this section, may stop, stand or park a
motor vehicle not displaying a special registration plate or
removable windshield placard in the area designated for handicapped
parking by the international symbol of access for the limited
purposes of loading or unloading a passenger with a mobility
impairment: Provided, however, That the vehicle shall be promptly
moved after the completion of this limited purpose.
Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined one hundred dollars.
(l) Signs erected in the future that designate areas as
"handicapped parking" or that display the international symbol of
access shall also include the words "$100 fine".
(m) No person may stop, stand or park a motor vehicle in an
area designated or marked off as an access aisle adjacent to a van-
accessible parking space or regular handicapped parking space. Any
person, including a driver of a vehicle displaying a valid
removable windshield placard or special registration plate, who
violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined one
hundred dollars.
(n) The commissioner shall establish a grace period for individuals who, on the effective date of the amendment adding this
subsection, hold special registration plates or removable
windshield placards bearing no expiration date to submit their
applications for newly issued special registration plates and
windshield placards, after which time any undated registration
plate or windshield placard is invalid and subject to confiscation
by any duly appointed law-enforcement officer.
(o) The commissioner shall adopt and promulgate rules in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code to effectuate the provisions of this section
and provide for an orderly transition to provisions enacted by the
Legislature in its regular session in the year one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six.